Man dies after falling down stairs at 'L' stop

The Howard Red Line "L" station in 2011. (Keri Wiginton / Chicago Tribune)

By Staff report

A man who may have been drunk fell down the stairs of a Far North Side "L" station, hit his head and died early Tuesday, police said.

The man, believed to be in his 40s, had not been identified this morning after hitting his head at the Howard Red Line station, 1649 W. Howard St., and being declared dead at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston at 3:10 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

The man died from a head injury suffered in the fall down the stairs, which happened because he was intoxicated, the medical examiner's office determined following an autopsy. Chronic alcoholism was a contributing factor in his death.

Police were called to the station about 2:30 a.m. after the man was escorted from the train platform, according to Chicago Police Department News Affairs Officer Michael Sullivan.

The man had been found to be intoxicated, partly undressed and smelling of urine and was asked to leave the platform, but tripped and fell down the stairs, said News Affairs Officer Jose Estrada.

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